1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the brazing of metal parts and, more particularly, the retouching of brazed joints.
2. Description of Related Art
Brazing involves solidly linking two metal parts in a surface contact position by means of a filler metal that is heated, the filler metal having a melting temperature lower than those of the parts to be joined.
When linking two metal parts by brazing in an oven, defects can appear in the parts. It is then necessary to “repeat” the brazing; that is, to retouch the brazing defects. “Repeating” the brazing consists in melting the brazed joint and filling the material voids with the filler metal used for the initial braze.
However, a second oven brazing cycle includes a certain number of risks. Often to be observed are a geometrical deformation of the assembly, a degradation of the intrinsic properties of the materials or even the appearance of new defects resulting, where appropriate, in the assembly being scrapped.
With regard more particularly to the brazing of aeronautical parts, repeated passes through the high temperature oven reduce the life span of the parts.
Moreover, the same ovens are used in brazing and in repeating the braze, which reduces the rate of production of the assemblies. Since the heating oven is used only for batches of parts, it is necessary to wait to have a sufficient number of defective parts before being able to make the repairs, which accordingly extends the production cycles.
Also known is the retouching of the defects by arc (TIG) welding. However, this type of high-power heating can lead to deformations that cannot be repaired, and the assembly must then be scrapped.